Senate Committee Approves Daniel Aronowitz’s Nomination for Assistant Secretary of Labor

The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) today voted to advance Daniel Aronowitz, nominee for Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), to the full Senate. The HELP Committee approved Aronowitz’s nomination by a vote of 14-9. The nomination now advances to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote.

“With his deep expertise on fiduciary issues and understanding of the challenges being faced by ESOPs, Daniel Aronowitz is an ideal choice to lead EBSA and The ESOP Association is grateful to the Senate HELP Committee for advancing his nomination,” said James Bonham, President and CEO of The ESOP Association. “He has pledged to end the regulatory bias against ESOPs while safeguarding the interests of the 14 million ESOP plan participants in the U.S., and we hope he is quickly confirmed by the full Senate.”  

During his confirmation hearing, Aronowitz clearly demonstrated his intent toward ESOP regulation, saying in his opening statement that “EBSA’s enforcement will be fair, even-handed, and efficient.” 

Aronowitz also signaled how he would proceed with a clear regulation defining adequate consideration, the process used for valuing ESOP stock, which Congress has mandated and the lack of which has been the greatest obstacle to new ESOP formation. In response to a question from Senator Lisa Murkowski (AK), he replied: “I will end the war on ESOPs. I think it's the best way for employees to get an additional benefit and ownership in an American company. The valuation companies have all been sued by the DOL...it can't be right that every single one of them is doing it wrong. What the Department is doing is nitpicking the professional judgment of the valuation professionals. I'm going to put an end to that. Because I think unless there is a clear conflict of interest, then the valuation is appropriate when done by an independent valuation firm."

“Daniel Aronowitz, alongside Secretary Chavez-DeRemer, represents real hope that the necessary changes required for ESOPs and employee ownership to flourish in America are coming,” added Bonham. “We urge the Senate to confirm Mr. Aronowitz so he can begin his efforts to undo decades of bias and ambiguity and usher in a transparent and fair regulatory framework for ESOPs that benefits workers, businesses, and our economy.”